This invention relates to methods of deodorizing by the use of a particular ion exchange manufacture and more particularly to such methods using that ion exchange manufacture embodied in particular articles and to those particular articles.
The literature of the prior art, such as the reference book "Ion Exchangers in Organic and Biochemistry" by Calmon and Kressman, published by Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York, copyright 1957, records attempts at deodorizing by the use of ion exchangers. Typically, as for example, by Ikai in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, Vol. 23, pp. 411 ff. (1954), such attempts were reported as employing ion exchange material in the categories of ion exchange resins ground into powders and used as powders, per se, or as powders mixed with a vehicle to constitute an oily or liquid preparation which was more or less sticky. The literature also reports attempted deodorizing by use of a catamenial pad having a cavity enclosing a quantity of bentonite, known to have ion exchange properties. U.S. Pat. No. 3,016,327 discloses biocidal compositions in which colloidal particles of anion exchange resin, described not as having any deodorant effect but only as the activating germicidal principle, are included in solid or liquid soap compositions, detergents, cosmetics, deodorants and the like.
For reasons clear from the following discussion, none of these prior art methods of deodorizing have proven practical. To deodorize an odorant involves rendering essentially imperceptible the odor from, or rendering negligible the disagreeableness of a malodor from, the odorant. To position, in contact with odorant emitted from a source, a quantity of ion exchange material sufficient to deodorize the odorant and to maintain that material in position to, and continuing to, deodorize for a period of time of practical length in those instances where the source continues to emit odorant, has not, with the forms of material used in prior art attempts at deodorizing, been possible to accomplish with efficacy, ease, comfort, and convenience of handling, positioning, and maintaining in position, nor with the ability to regenerate the material conveniently and economically in those instances where this ability would be especially desirable. That is, the prior art attempts at deodorizing with ion exchangers were not practically effective. Certain of the reasons for this will be apparent from the following exemplary discussion.
In attempts to deodorize the odorants issuing from the human axilla, finely powdered ion exchange resins were dusted thickly over the axillary skin. Obviously, a single grain or particle of such powder being exceedingly small, i.e. of negligible dimensions, rather than substantially extended would not deodorize effectively since it would not contain an appreciable number of ion exchange sites. The mass of powder, taken as a whole, being made up of a plurality of components grossly discernible as separate from one another, namely, the grains or particles, with each element free to move independently of its immediate neighbor essentially an indefinite distance apart from that neighbor, constituted a fluid. In other words, these components are, in normal use, dispersible. The deodorant effect of this fluid, i.e., the mass of powder, did not last long because of the washing away of the powder by sweat produced by the axilla and hence this method was impractical. In other words, in normal use, the ion exchange powder components are in fact dispersed by the washing away effected by the sweat and thus cannot and do not remain in contact with the odorant for a practical length of time.
When, in an attempt to improve adhesion of the material to the skin of the armpit, the powder was mixed variously with such vehicles as petrolatum, ointments, surface active agents, mucilages and mixtures thereof, the resulting products still remained fluid and suffered additionally from other disadvantages contributing to ineffective deodorizing such as blocking of the sweat from the resin by the hydrophobic petrolatum, lack of adhesion encouraged by some of the other ingredients, and uncomfortable sensation by the user.
In the case of the aforementioned catamenial pad, the amount of bentonite required even to approach adequate deodorizing of the user's excretion for a practical length of time rendered the pad impractically bulky. Furthermore, the mass of bentonite as a whole being fluid, it tended to run down to the lower end of the cavity in the pad and there accumulate as an inconvenient bulge.
As for the colloidal anion exchange resin particles of U.S. Pat. No. 3,016,327, reported only as germicidal and not deodorant, the disclosed embodiments all render them, in normal use, fluid and hence dispersible, as is seen from the following. Soap and detergents in solid form, i.e. cake or powder or chip, must, in normal use, to accomplish their intended function, be moistened with a liquid, typically water, and hence in normal use their ingredients are fluid. Liquid soap compositions and liquid detergents are obviously fluid. The colloidal resin particles embodied (for germicidal purposes only, according to the above mentioned patent), in cosmetics or deodorants constituted as pastes, or sticks which are in effect pastes, or liquids are obviously, in normal use, fluid and dispersible since the embodiments as a whole are fluid. Those masses of particles of resin which might be embodied in cosmetics or deodorants applied as powders are also, in normal use, fluid and dispersible, as previously pointed out in the discussion of powdered resins applied to the axilla.
An object of the invention is to provide, using particular types of ion exchange materials and more particularly certain articles embodying those materials, methods of deodorizing which are effective over a practical length of time, comfortable, convenient, and economical to use, and are especially applicable on the human body.
Another object of this invention is to provide those certain articles, embodying those particular types of ion exchange materials, especially useful in carrying out the methods of the invention.